Desperate Measures
by Kalia
Summary: *SLASH* - Jonathan investigates why Clark has been acting strangely recently.


Desperate Measures  
  
By Kalia  
  
Category: Angst  
  
Rating: PG  
  
Pairing: Clark/Lex  
  
Disclaimer: All the characters belong to DC and the WB. I'm only _  
  
taking them out to play and putting them back much happier then you _  
  
last left them. I have no money and unless you want pay off my _  
  
college debt don't bother suing.  
  
Notes: Thanks to Jenn and Spes for beta'ing this piece. Any mistakes left  
  
within are my own, or the fault of gremlins on the Internet.  
  
  
  
Lex leaned over, arms resting on his knees, his head bowed down staring at the ground. Goosebumps covered his bare skin as it screamed out for the warmth that had suddenly disappeared with Clark. Everything had been going fine. What had begun as kissing and cuddling escalated further then it had ever had before. They'd laughingly wandered up the stairs and into his bedroom while groping each other playfully. Eventually they'd made it to the bed and tumbled upon it together. Clark had deftly pushed his pants below his knees before Lex had even realized.  
  
He'd moved to reciprocate so that they could lay together nearly completely skin to skin, since their shirts had been removed upon entering the bedroom. As he'd fumbled with the button on Clark's jeans, the younger man had frozen. He pushed Lex's hands away, grabbed his shirt and sneakers, and fled from the room. So that's why Lex was siting on his bed, not able to put on a shirt or to pull on his pants as he waited for Clark to return and explain.  
  
Seconds passed by becoming minutes, minutes stretched into hours, then days. As time passed by with no sign of Clark's return, Lex began to believe his father was correct, emotions were a weakness.  
  
***  
  
Jonathan Kent watched Clark as he worked on his chores, but remove the 'move' there and reword} on his chores. In the past month, there had been a dramatic change in his son. He no longer hung out with his friends, Chloe and Pete; he no longer seemed to moon over Lana Lang. Clark even stopped visiting Lex Luthor, the one change he would have semi-approved of if it hadn't been so sudden. Even that scared him, because Clark had suddenly stopped communicating with everyone unless he was asked a direct question. He only left the farm to go to and from school and on rare occasions to run errands for the farm.  
  
Clark finished what he'd been working on and headed up to his Fortress of Solitude. Jonathan shook his head. Apparently he'd named that to well. Clark now spent every free minute he had up there, even to the point of sleeping half the time. His isolationist attitude had even been remarked upon by the school councilor, who had called Martha and him for a meeting. Clark's grades had dropped dramatically, mostly because he had stopped doing his homework assignments. The councilor recommended that they might want to have Clark undergo some psychological therapy.  
  
Therapy wasn't a viable option. Jonathan climbed into his truck and started driving. Martha and he had tried talking with Clark many times, but he would always say he was fine and that nothing was wrong. It was like talking to a brick wall. They'd asked around and found that the last person Clark had spoken to before this radical change had occurred was Lex Luthor. So Jonathan drove towards the castle determined to find out what Lex had said or done to his son.  
  
When he arrived at the castle, a servant let him in and told Jonathan that he'd see if Lex could fit him into his schedule. He had been left waiting for over and hour when the man returned and led him into the study saying that Mr. Luthor would be with him shortly. Pacing, Jonathan waited for Lex to appear. It was forty-five minutes before he did arrive, in the middle of a tense conversation on the phone.  
  
"Either you get rid of those fifty workers yourself, or I will do it. And I'll find someone to replace you, since you can't follow orders." Hanging up the phone, Lex's cold eyes stared at him. "You have one minute Mr. Kent. If you need more time, call my secretary and make an appointment."  
  
Resisting the impulse to slap Lex or to grab him by the collar and shake him-- demanding answers that he was desperately hoping to get-- Jonathan approached. "I'd like to know what happened the last time Clark was here."  
  
Lex smirked. "I'm afraid I can't help you."  
  
"Before he was here last he was a typical teenage boy, moody but fine. I need to know what happened to change that, so his mother and I can help him though this."  
  
"If you want to know what happened you are going to have to ask him. I'm confused about it myself, so I can't help you. Now, if you'll excuse me. I have a business to run."  
  
Jonathan knew he was dismissed. "He said you were his friend. Told me that I was wrong about you. Seems I was right after all." The servant reappeared and quickly showed him the way out. Lex was living up to his surname completely. Luthors only cared about themselves. He wasn't really surprised that Lex hadn't helped. But he was going to get answers today, even if he had to force them out of Clark.  
  
***  
  
Clark sat in the barn staring at the tablet his father had given him. The tablet his birth parents had placed with him when they sent him to Earth. Proof that he didn't belong here on this planet, with these people. Reminding him why he had to distance himself from them. He had to; pretending he was human hurt too much because sometimes he'd even believe the act. Then reality would settle in and the realizations it brought hurt deeply. And then the vicious cycle that pretending brought would begin again.  
  
The squeak from a loose board on the stairs warned Clark of someone's approach. He hid the tablet and look out the window. Hopefully whoever it was would leave quickly. Unintentionally he gazed towards Lex's castle as be braced himself for the visitor to come.  
  
"Clark, I'd like to speak with you," said his father in a steely tone.  
  
Shrugging Clark tried to appear as if he didn't care, hoping he succeeded. He ignored the instinct to turn around and be polite.  
  
"I went to see Lex Luthor today," began his father. Clark flinched and his fingers tightened upon the windowsill leaving impressions in the wood. "I asked him what happened when you last visited."  
  
A shudder ran through his body, anticipating anger about his sexuality or his choice in partners. He waited in fear to hear the disappointment in his father's voice and the lecture that would begin with, 'How could do something so stupid?'  
  
"He wouldn't tell me anything and suggested I ask you."  
  
Clark's body sagged with relief. He stayed quiet, hoping that his father would drop the subject and not demand an explanation of that day. Hopefully, things could go back to the way they had been.  
  
"What happened? Did Lex say something or threaten you in some way?"  
  
"What makes you think he did anything? Why do you think this is his fault?" asked Clark defensively.  
  
"Because he's a Luthor and is just like his father."  
  
"No he isn't. He's nothing like Lionel Luthor."  
  
"I heard him give the order to lay off fifty workers at the plant. He threatened to fire the person on the phone if they didn't do it quickly enough. That sounds cold and ruthless to me."  
  
"Lex isn't-"  
  
"I didn't come up here to get sidetracked into talking about Lex," interrupted his father. He felt his father's hand grasp his shoulder in an attempt to be reassuring. "I'm here to talk about you. What's going on in your head. Why are you shutting everyone out?"  
  
"It's nothing," he responded flatly.  
  
"Tell me anyway, then. We're all worried about you."  
  
"Don't be. I'm fine. I'm pretty much invulnerable, remember?" In a whisper he added, "Besides you can't help, and you wouldn't want to know."  
  
"Even if we can't help, we still want to know, Clark. It's part of being parents. Sometimes sharing problems makes them seem a bit smaller."  
  
"Trust me on this one. You don't want to know," he replied.  
  
"There's nothing in the world you can't tell me. You're my son. I love you."  
  
"Please... just leave this be," he begged.  
  
"I can't, just tell me. What's wrong? What happened at Lex's?"  
  
He heard the underlying question; What did Lex Luthor do to you? "Just remember when your angry and disowning me, that you asked to hear this." Turning around Clark looked at his father.  
  
"We'd never dis-"  
  
"Lex and I had a relationship." He ignored the look of shock on his dad's face. "We were making out and ended up in his bedroom." Breathing deeply, he crossed his arms, trying to appear more composed then he felt. "Things were going farther then they had before. I pulled his pants down and he... he started to do the same with mine."  
  
"Clark if this is because your gay-"  
  
Clark giggled hysterically. "If only it was that simple. I remembered then, I'm not human, so I ran. What was I supposed to say? 'I love you but I can't do this because I'm an alien and can possibly kill you. My body fluids might be poisonous or I may break your bones if I squeeze my hands too tightly?' Every day that passed made it harder to go back and apologize. Especially since you made me promise never to tell anyone. So even if I did, I couldn't explain why I left when I did."  
  
Pulling his father's hand off his shoulder, he backed away. "No matter how hard I try, I'll never fit in, never be normal. I'll never be able to be with him, or anyone, for that matter. Damn it, why the hell was I sent here? So I would forever be alone, isolated even though I'm surrounded by people? Are you happy now that you know Dad?"  
  
"Son, I didn't-"  
  
"If you are, I'd like to be alone. I need more practice at it, seeing it's how I'm going to spend the rest of my life."  
  
***  
  
Jonathan was so shocked that he couldn't move. It wasn't that fact his son was gay or bisexual. It wasn't that his son had been involved with Lex Luthor, though some other time that fact would have probably given him a heart attack. It was the pain in Clark's voice as he revealed what was bothering him. He was terrified, believing that he would never be able to be with someone he loved. The worst part was that his son had found someone he wanted to be with and yet he couldn't be. No wonder he hadn't wanted to speak about this with him. He couldn't confide in his friends like a normal teenager; there was no way they would understand. And no teenager ever wanted to discuss sex with their parents.  
  
To make matters worse, he didn't know what Martha or he could do to help Clark through this. Though his life, they had made it a priority to instill a sense of responsibility in Clark when dealing with his gifts. What Clark had just revealed showed a remarkable restraint and maturity on his part. Unfortunately, Clark's solution was destroying him.  
  
"Jonathan, Clark," Martha shouted, "dinner's ready."  
  
Clark had pulled out the tablet while he had been standing by in shock, and now returned it to its hiding place before heading to the house. The young man avoided meeting his eyes, preferring to look at the ground. He followed Clark inside for the first time realizing the depth of the pain those sagged shoulders were carrying.  
  
Dinner passed that night with both Kent men eating little. Clark spent most of the time pushing the food around on his plate. Jonathan watched Clark throughout dinner, and Martha spent it watching both of them curiously. After dinner, while Clark was taking a shower, Jonathan walked over and gave her at tight hug.  
  
"Martha, what's your opinion on Lex Luthor?"  
  
"Up until a month ago, I would have said he's a nice young man, but lately- "  
  
Giving her a quick kiss he said, "I'll be back in a while."  
  
"Where are you going?"  
  
"To see if I can get our son back."  
  
"Jonathan, did you find something out? Please tell me if you did," she pleaded.  
  
"He's afraid of getting 'close' to someone because of where he's from."  
  
"What are you going to do?"  
  
"To figure out what I think of Lex Luthor," he replied cryptically. Grabbing a jacket before walking out of the house, he asked himself if he could follow through on this. Martha had always seemed to give Lex the benefit of the doubt and Clark... well he know how Clark felt about him. But could he trust Lex with this secret, with Clark's life?  
  
***  
  
Lex Luthor sat in his study with most of the lights out. Jonathan Kent's visit earlier in the day was affecting him more then he had anticipated. Recalling the day Clark had ran out on him hurt, because he'd never returned to explain. He wished he could have answered Jonathan's question, wanted to have the option to give him those answers. But he'd never went to Clark and asked for them, because Luthors don't chase after people. That would be a sign of weakness and desperation.  
  
"Mr. Kent, you can't go in there," he heard Andrew shout just before the door to his study flew open. He'd been expecting this second visit. Once Jonathan found out about the relationship between Clark and him, Lex knew he'd appear to 'defend his son's honor.'  
  
"Call your servant off, Lex. I think you'll want to hear what I have to say."  
  
Lex waved his hand in a shooing motion in their direction. "Andrew, I'll call if I need you." Looking directly at Jonathan he said, "I didn't expect to see you so soon." Once Andrew had left the room and Jonathan had shut the door, he continued. "If you're here to threaten me about what I did with your son, I'd like to remind you that the age of consent in Kansas is sixteen years old."  
  
Jonathan stalked over to the desk gritting his teeth. "I don't approve of your relationship with my son. Not because you're both men, but because your twenty-two and he's just sixteen." Placing his palm of his hands on the desk he leaned over. "I'm here because I want my son back and the only you can reach him right now is you. Martha always told me to give you a chance. Clark is in... love with you. Even knowing that, I need to know if I can trust you. Give me a reason to."  
  
Lex contemplated, torn between his desire to scream 'tell me what you know' and acting as if he didn't care like his father would do. Curiosity and the fact that he didn't particularly like his father won. "Is there anything I could say to make you believe me? I'm a Luther after all," he added sarcastically. He watched Jonathan carefully, hoping it would be enough. Lex didn't believe he could convince Jonathan by saying he loved Clark, because he wasn't sure he did. "If he walked in today, apologized and explained why he acted the way he did. Why he'd avoided me until now, a convincing reason, then we could talk. See where to go."  
  
"I believe you," said Jonathan, sighing. Lex couldn't tell if it was disappointment or relief. He pulled out a long rectangular item wrapped in cloth from his jacket and handed it to Lex. "In your hands you hold the reason Clark ran from you when he did."  
  
Lex unwrapped the item curiously. "What is this?" he asked as he studied the strange markings on the silver and gold colored item.  
  
"We're not sure exactly. Martha and I think it's a letter to Clark, from his parents."  
  
"I know he's adopted," said Lex hurriedly. "What language is this written in?"  
  
"We don't know. We've researched both modern and ancient languages, the symbols don't match."  
  
"Martha and I can't have a child on our own. The day of the meteorite shower, after it was overwe found him; a toddler wandering about alone. We searched for his parents, but there was no sign of anyone around for miles. Just that and... a ship that looked like a meteorite."  
  
"You're saying Clark's an alien?"  
  
"We didn't want him living his life in a laboratory being experimented upon by scientists, so we raised him as our own. That's why he ran Lex; he's afraid that if you two continued, he could have hurt or killed you. He couldn't explain because we made him promise never to tell anyone."  
  
"I knew he was hiding something. I just thought he was like those other people, the ones affected by the shower..." trailed off Lex.  
  
"The important questions you need to ask yourself are; do you still care about him now that you know the truth and are you going to help him through this? With that Jonathan Kent left, leaving Lex alone in the dark room with only his thoughts.  
  
Clark hadn't left him because he was ashamed or things had been moving too quickly. Clark hadn't wanted to hurt him. But Clark wasn't human, so what was he supposed to do? The only thing he could thing of was to climb inside one of his cars and drive.  
  
***  
  
Hours later, Lex found himself parking his car in the Kent's driveway and at their front door. The lights were still on so Lex knocked and found Clark's parents were still awake.He met Jonathan's eyes and asked, "May I speak with Clark?"  
  
"Sure, he's out in the barn. Probably in the loft," said Jonathan, not looking particularly relieved..  
  
"Goodnight, Mrs. Kent, Mr. Kent," said Lex politely. Slowly, he walked to the barn wondering why he was here. He still wasn't sure as to what he was going to say to Clark. He hadn't intended to come here, he just ended up here. He quietly walked up the stairs. The breath caught in his throat when he saw Clark standing by the open window, looking ethereal as the moonlight shone upon him. "Hello Clark," he said quietly, causing the younger man to jump in surprise.  
  
"Lex," Clark whispered, turning around to look at him. "What are you doing here?"  
  
"I came to see you. I believe its long past time we talk."  
  
"Why? Us. we're over."  
  
"Are we really? If you're willing to give up on us so easily maybe it should be over," replied Lex.  
  
He noticed Clark clenched his fist tightly, but didn't say anything for a while. "It's not that easy for me. Is that what you want to hear Lex, that I'm hurting too?"  
  
He moved closer to Clark. "I already knew that, your father told me. The same father who we thought would have a heart attack if he ever found out about us. You're very lucky Clark, that your father loves you so much." Clark shrugged as if he didn't care, but Lex could see the slight tinge of a blush on his cheeks.  
  
"That's not the reason, though, things haven't changed. We just can't be together."  
  
"Things have changed. I know now-"  
  
"You can't know, he would never tell you."  
  
"That you fell from the sky like a gift from the heavens. He told me, that's how much he loves you, Clark. He told me, someone he despises, the secret that could tear your family apart, for the chance that I could do what he was hoping, help you out of this depression you're in."  
  
"I'm sure he doesn't despise you,"  
  
"Fine, he doesn't like me very much then."  
  
"He just doesn't know you like I do," replied Clark.  
  
"You always say that."  
  
"So what do we do now?"  
  
"That depends. I think you are worth the risk, Clark. You bring out the best of me, trust me if you knew me this past month you'd hate me. You have to make a choice though; are you willing to take the risk with me?"  
  
"You're the one who could get hurt, though," said Clark worriedly.  
  
"We can take things very slowly, step by step," said Lex caressing Clark's cheek with his fingertips. "Trial and error, experimentation. It could be extremely amusing." Lex licked his lips seductively.  
  
"I want to... but I'm scared," replied Clark, leaning into his hand.  
  
"You think I'm not?"  
  
"You don't look it."  
  
"Business habit." Taking Clark's hand, he pushed it under his shirt so it rested on his heart. "Feel that. It's because I'm scared too."  
  
"You really believe we can be together?" Lex nodded, staring into Clark's eyes. He watched as Clark's expression changed from hesitant to hopeful, then Clark leaned forward and their lips met. The touch was as fleeting as a butterfly's wing, but it was the first step down what was to be a long road. One he was looking forward to taking his time traveling down. 


End file.
